A reminder that when we lose it all, we never really lose everything.

Thank you Woolever for bringing this book to life, even if we can't bring it all back.

For what this book really is:
Think of it as a travel guide for when you're thinking of going to a place, take a look in this book. See what Bourdain thought. 99% of these places he loved (I would know, I watched his shows almost religiously that my parents wanted me to use that passion in STEM....yeah that didn't happen).
This is not a biography or autobiography, more of, Bourdain, his brother, and colleagues remembering their times with him and Bourdain himself, recalling what he loved about each place.
It's VERY important to read the introduction before reading the rest to understand what you're getting into. Otherwise this book seems lazy and half ass, when it's anything but.

Prose:
Book is split between black text (Woolever's commentary) and blue text (Bourdain either excerpts from his shows or "off-air").
It's like we're seeing a window into the past of what Bourdain thought with the aftermath, in black. It's a bit haunting to realize, we're not HEARING Bourdain, but reading the past.
Either way, whether he realized it or not, Bourdain was up there as being a master in 1st POV. He can describe food and experiences so vividly, you feel like you were there with him.

Plot: Nonfiction, so technically no plot, but it's a sort of travel guide

Pace: It's a travel guide, what do you want me to say. The pace does slow down a little when colleague's essays are inserted, but once you get going, they are emotional and you hit yourself that you shouldn't have doubted them

Vibe: Because he's no longer with us...it's...melancholy, but hopeful.

Characters: Bourdain and Woolever imo

Worldbuilding: Some lore to this book.
I'm not going to details how he exited life, just who he was at least to me.

It's somewhere around 2005.

I entered the most toxic hostage/relationship that it easily gave me PTSD after I exited it in 2013.

I was bullied in high school.

I never ate lunch as I was picky with everything that came on my plate.

My mom was out in the workforce, dad took the job of rearing us being a stay at home stock trader, but it was a joy that was not a joy but one of misunderstandings and rage.

And then there was No Reservations to greet me everyday.
Imagine, you see a new side of the world you were never shown in media, much less high school, and Bourdain's eating delicious food ( and what are usually cheap). From that point on, I WISHED i could eat that food, or not be too scared to eat lunch with people, though it did teach me how to sneakily eat in the library. Sorry, ladies.
He was the best possible distraction of the hand my life shoved in my hands.

I'm not going as far to say he changed my life, but he saved it.
Multiple times.

And we couldn't save him.

Woolever, thanks again for making this book a reality. As a writer, I don't know where my journey leads, I only wish I save someone else with my work, just as he did with me.

Thank you, Bourdain.

4.5/5